Sea of Stars
by Ephemeral in Bloom
Summary: A seemingly tiny change can be the cause of a huge difference. A previously very insignificant factor unexpectedly was the cause of the delay of a massive incident. In other words, Thatch didn't find the Yami Yami No Mi when he was supposed to. And when he does, things progress differently. Very differently.
1. What's the Situation?

I can explain!

Disclaimer: Is One Piece mine? Never. This? Totally.

* * *

What's the Situation?

* * *

_Meeting Room, Flagship of the Whitebeard Pirates, New World, 10 AM_

Fourteen Whitebeard Commanders were quietly sitting at the long table, undergoing their monthly meeting.

Seated at the head of the table was their infamous Captain and Father, a massive man that had been quite the headache inducing catalyst for the World Government in his youth. Now, though aged, he, and his crew were still people that were revered and feared.

And for good reason.

The man presiding over the meeting, however, wasn't the towering Captain, who much more preoccupied with his tankard and quite happy with simply listening to his sons undergo the proceedings.

It was the man sitting to his right that led the meeting.

"My division has been good." Atmos reported.

"Same for mine. We just had an issue with the furniture in a few of the barracks. The bolts loosened when we were tossed around in the storm." Fossa bit down on his cigar.

"Blamenco, yoi, work it out with him." Marco the Phoenix, likely the strongest on the crew after its Captain, as well as impromptu first mate of the crew ordered.

"Sure." Blamenco affirmed.

"Izo?"

"The 16th division is fine." He replied, smoothing down his kimono.

"Aside from that… Kingdew, your division will be responsible for forming a team and checking out the situation on Foodvalten. They've sent out a distress call, yoi."

"Roger. I'll lead the team myself."

"That's fine. As for our islands in Paradise… We haven't sent anyone to take a look for some time. Thatch, can your division handle that, yoi?"

"No problem!" Thatch replied cheerily. "When do we set out?"

"It isn't particularly urgent, yoi."

"Then I'll wait for Jiru to return before leaving."

"Good. And Ace, how has your division been, yoi?"

"Decent. That last battle with Kaido caught us off guard, but we've pretty much recovered."

"Alright. Vista, are the funds still sufficient?"

"We're still going strong! We still haven't finished using what Namur and his division brought back from their haul. I also took the opportunity to replenish our reserves."

"That… should be pretty much everything, yoi." Marco skimmed through his notes. "Alright, everyone can go and do whatever they need to do, yoi. Kingdew, Thatch, I'll brief you on your respective missions."

In twos and threes, the rest of the Commanders filed out of the spacious meeting room.

* * *

_Main Deck, ten minutes later_

"My, my, the Revolutionary Army has certainly been on a roll recently." Izo commented as he read from the paper in his hands. "This is the second island they've liberated this year. Just a few months ago, they declared victory on an island in Paradise."

"Hmmm?"

"This time, it's an island in South Blue, called Centaurea. Have you heard of it?"

"Nope. I've never been to South Blue before." Haruta replied. "You could try asking Curiel."

"If I remember to later." Izo agreed. "And despite all of this chaos, the Marines still haven't made any movements except continuing to spread their propaganda. It's as if they aren't worried... Whatever, this is their headache. I just hope that the Revolutionaries aren't planning on ripping off all pretenses anytime soon… things have been tense enough recently."

"Regardless, It has nothing to do with us. As long as no one bothers us, we won't go out of our way to pick a fight." Haruta said dismissively. "What I think we should be worrying about right now is Ace."

"Ace?"  
"Haven't you noticed? He's been acting a little strange recently." Haruta questioned.

"He has certainly been a little off." Vista joined the conversation.

"I haven't noticed anything, so if you could clarify the situation…" Curiel raised his eyebrows.

"Same." Izo agreed.

"Well, it's all the small things, but I'll summarize for you!" Haruta said cheerfully. "The first thing that you should have noticed is that he's been waking up early in the past few days. Like, really early. In the past, you don't see him until around nine or so. And that's on a good day."

"And, so?" Izo naturally wouldn't notice such a fact because he was also a late riser.

"Then, after careful observation, I noticed the reason he was getting up so early every day was because he wanted to read the newspaper."

"Okaaaaay, I believed you on the first one, but seriously?" Curiel asked dubiously. "Since when has Ace developed a habit of reading the news?"  
"That's right!"

"And I happened to notice that there's been a few rather strange new additions to the clutter in his room." Vista added. "I'm certain that I saw a pipe somewhere."  
"Wait, a pipe?" Blamenco, who was passing by, paused. "You said you found my missing pipes? Where did you find them? My division wanted to do repairs yesterday, only to find that our supply of pipes has… dwindled. It's been a real problem for us to find them, because nobody knew why anyone would take them."

"And, when we docked two weeks ago, I think Ace had someone commission his vivre card!" Fossa added. "I didn't think much of it at the time, but thinking back… Ace wouldn't make it for no reason, and vivre cards are definitely a big risk if they fall into the wrong hands."  
"You're right, Ace has been acting unusual lately. Now, one question remains, why? Did something happen?"

"No. Ace is from East Blue, right? Everything's been normal." Vista mused.

"And Ace seems to have been in a great mood recently. Even better than normal."

"That… is true."  
"But this doesn't add up!" Haruta frowned.  
"Let's just go and ask him about it."

"Shouldn't we ask Pops first? Or Marco. They might know something."  
"Who are we asking again?" Thatch questioned. "And why are all of you gathered around here?"  
"Where's Marco and Pops?"  
"Marco's still speaking to Kingdew. Pops should be with them. Why?"  
"Well… we might have a problem on our hands."

"..."

"... And that is why we think Ace is being bothered by something!"

"Wait, what?" Thatch listened as Haruta summarized their conversation.

"Yup, that's it!"

"Hmmm… now that I think about it, your words do make sense! Ace hasn't come to talk to me for quite some time! I just thought he was busy lately… we definitely need to talk to Pops about this!" Thatch declared.

"Why didn't you mention this in the meeting, Haruta?"  
"It could have been a minor thing…" Haruta sulked. "I didn't think that things were _that_ drastic. And besides, it might be a private matter. I couldn't have just announced it in front of everyone."

The group of Commanders made their way back to the meeting room.

"It seems like we were too slow." Vista said as he opened the door of the empty room.

"Maybe Marco's in his room."  
"What about Pops?"

"They might be in Pop's room."  
"Shouldn't we grab Ace, too? And the other Commanders?"

"Everyone, shut up!" Haruta shouted. "Here's what we're going to do- I will search for Marco in his room. Vista, you search Pop's room. Thatch, you get Ace. Someone try to find Kingdew, Jozu, Atmos and Namur. Everyone will meet back here in ten minutes. Are we good?"  
When he heard the mutters of assent, Haruta said, "Alright, then let's get to it!"

* * *

Yep, so people must be wondering, why the hell are you starting another story that will probably drag on forever and ever, just like the one you are currently working on, when we all know the problems you have with updating on time?

Err... Well, I was being plagued with this, it was even appearing in my dreams, so... Yeah...

I'll give you a brief explanation on this, since it might not seem too clear at the moment.

Oda never gave us a particular date as to when Thatch finds his fruit, and when everything becomes a mess. Since Ace did meet Luffy's crew at Alabasta, we can estimate. Or rather, I'll estimate that Thatch finds his fruit around the time when Luffy sets sail. Well, he does in canon, but he won't here, because of a certain sleep deprived Almighty currently typing on a keyboard. And then everything changes, because Teach's betrayal causes far more than just the Battle at Marineford. Not to make it sound unimportant, but things like the breakout from Impel Down with members of the Revolutionary Army, the two year timeskip, a new fleet admiral and new admiral, Jinbe turning to Big Mom for protection for Fishman Island... All of these things will have to change, one way or another. While I can't promise some things won't be similar to canon, you can see how much I need to change.

This chapter is relatively short, the chapters will get longer as we go.

One last question for you all: you do know what's going on, right?

Please don't be stingy with your reviews! :)


	2. So it was a Misunderstanding

Hello~~~!

* * *

So it was a Misunderstanding

* * *

_Barracks of the First Division, 10:30 AM_

"Marco! You in there?" Haruta called, pounding on the door. If it was anyone else, he wouldn't have hesitated to just barrel in, but the phoenix was a bit… touchy about people entering his nest without permission. Oh, he could deny it all he wanted (his protests usually involved something like _privacy_), but it was crystal clear how his behavior resembled that of a bird protecting his roost.

"If you damage my door, it's coming out of your allowance, yoi."  
"Nah, I won't be able to break it. Didn't you specially ask Blamenco to make your door out of Adam wood? If it was Jozu, then he'd be able to cause some damage. Or Vista. Mayb-"

"Why are you searching for me?" Marco frowned. "I'm busy."

"Ah, right! I almost forgot! Come on, Marco, let's go!" Haruta grabbed his arm.  
"Go where, yoi?" Marco didn't budge.

"Meeting room! It's important!" Haruta tugged impatiently. "Really! Why are you so heavy?"  
"We just finished the meeting." Marco shot him a 'this isn't funny' look.  
"Yup! And now we're going to start another!"

"Please stop messing around, Haruta." Marco rubs his nose tiredly. "I've had a very long night yesterday."  
"Well, I'm actually being serious this time!" Haruta said, affronted. "Literally everyone's been noticing that something's been off with Ace lately, which is why we need to get to the bottom of it, now!"

"With Ace?"  
"It's going to take too long for me to explain it now. Come on, let's go!"

* * *

_Meeting Room, !0:40 AM_

"Alright, now that everyone that needs to be here is here, can someone finally explain to me why we were called _again_?" Kingdew asked, sounding irritable. "I'm planning to leave for Foodvalten tomorrow. You should know how much work I have to do to prepare for it."

"Same. Unlike some of you, I currently have plenty on my hands, with what that virus that you brought back with you, Atmos." The only female in the room threw the Commander a scathing glare. "And Pops, please do hand over that tankard you're trying, and failing, mind you, to hide." The medic was dressed in a comfortable blouse and black pants. Her knee length overcoat was, for once, nowhere to be seen.

"Ahem… Well, my daughter…" Whitebeard chuckled nervously.

"How has it been, yoi?"

"Well, as fine as it can be, I suppose." Imre sighed dramatically as she walked over to the Captain to confiscate the alcohol. "The thirteenth division is practically all down, seeing as no one ever bothers to report that they've been feeling unwell, because nooooo, they want to act macho. Alright, fine! Now they're stuck in bed for three weeks, and we're the ones that have to take care of them! I'm actually supposed to be on my break right now!"

"Oh… well, that's bad…" Thatch broke the ensuing silence.

"Indeed! And don't think I forgot about _this_." She shook the tankard in her hand menacingly. "I recall we had this conversation just a few weeks ago, _Father_. And you all! How long has this been going on? How long were you planning on hiding this from me?"

All of the Commanders attempted to look as inconspicuous as possible.

"Well?"

"Psst! Who brought her here anyways?" Rakuyo hissed.

"We're going off topic, yoi." Marco interrupted. "You can take care of this issue at a later time."

Imre scoffed, but relented with a look that clearly said that the issue wasn't over.

"Haruta, explain. Why have you called us here?"  
"Right!" Haruta said. "Ace, have you been facing difficulties? A lot of us have noticed that you've been acting out of the norm."  
"Huh?" Not expecting to be called out, Ace was stunned for a moment. "What?"  
"That's right." Blamenco agreed. "Why did you take the pipes from our supplies?"  
"I... took your pipes?"

"And you've been distracted when you were talking to me! Not that you've come to talk to me for quite some time... " Thatch cut in.

"I saw you making your vivre card on the last island!"  
"You've been waking up earlier-" "-you forgot to return the reports you borrowed from me-" "-you promised to help me with-"

"-and you've been reading the news!" Haruta declared.

"Ace, did something happen?" "You can trust us, you know." "Tell us what happened! We just want to help-!"

By this time, Ace had a completely stupefied expression on his face. "Wha- huh?!"

"Be honest, Ace-"

"CAN IT!" Jozu roared suddenly, startling everyone. The usually quiet man sat back down. "Stop bombarding the kid and give him a little space." He finished gruffly.  
Looking ashamed, the previously agitated Commanders all obediently sat down.

Whitebeard stared at his youngest son with concerned eyes. "Ace, has something happened?"  
"What?! No!" Ace refuted.

"But everyone's been noticing; you _have _been behaving out of sorts." Izo said.

"First off, I didn't take anything from the storage, Blamenco!"

"Eh? But Vista says he saw the pipes in your room!"  
"I did." Vista nodded.

"I bought them on the island!"  
"Regarding those pipes... one of the sinks in my division's bathroom was leaking, so we took them." Jozu explained. "We told the person organizing the inventory. His name was… Doss."  
"He may have forgotten to mention it. Yesterday, someone brought him in the infirmary after he threw up half his intestines and he's been resting in bed." Isme said. "Again, next time you returns from missions, you take every person that went with you and come straight to the infirmary to get a checkup, you hear me? If you did, we wouldn't be in this situation!"

"..." Blamenco paused.

"Fine, but why have you been reading the news? I've never seen you pick up a newspaper before."

"And you made your Vivre card…" Not to be outdone, Fossa hurriedly raised his argument.

"I do read the news… And yup, I did make my Vivre card!" Ace beamed.

"Why?! It's not a small thing, to make your-"  
"It's 'cause my little brother set sail a while ago!"

"..."

"Oh."

"So that's why. It makes sense, it makes sense."

"Ah! You're planning on giving your vivre card to your little brother! Well, just make sure he's careful with it, because wouldn't it be a disaster if it gets into the wrong hands, but aside from that, I don't see any problems..."

"Ahem." Haruta tapped her fingers on the desk. "Ace, how old is your brother?"  
"Seventeen!"  
"Eh! But that's so young!"  
"Hey, I set sail at that age too!" Ace argued.

"And you've known each other for…?"  
"Ten years!" He replies proudly. "We're not biological brothers."  
"Just one last question." Haruta stuck up a finger. "So he's been around ever since you were… you're twenty now, so you were ten when you met him. Alright, you've known him for half your life. Now why have we never heard anything about this little brother before?"

Silence.

"Hey… he's right! I've never heard you mention a brother!"

"You can't just pull a relative out of thin air!" Fossa complained.

"Are there any other family members that you haven't mentioned yet, Ace? You might as well just pull them all out now." Thatch said carelessly.  
Not everyone realized, but Marco saw it at the same moment that Thatch noticed that his question might have been a tiny bit insensitive.

So did Pops, Haruta, and perhaps a few of the more observant Commanders.

They all witnessed that brief, fleeting moment when Ace's face changed, and a glimmer of darkness appeared in his eyes (and Marco was simply too clear with the reason).

That moment was gone in an instant, a cheery expression pasted right back on his face.

Marco could tell that part of it was definitely forced.

"Well… not really." Ace shrugged. "Aside from Luffy, it's just the people that raised me back in East Blue… and a grandfather." A grimace at the mention of _that_ particular relative.

Thankfully, no one was tactless enough to probe any further. And if they did, Marco would have intervened.

"So… What's your little brother like?" Haruta asked tentatively, breaking an awkward moment.

And apparently he made the right decision to ask, because any negativity Ace had been feeling after his family had been seemed to have melted right off. "Luffy? He's… hmmmm, he's special."  
"Well, since he grew up with you, he's probably an utterly monstrous brat as well." Curiel muttered, likely recalling the time when Ace tossed him thirty feet in the air.

"LuffY? He's the dumbest person I've ever met! He has the survival instincts of… I don't know, an earthworm! He has no common sense at all! I mean, he'd pester someone even if they tried to kill him just 'cause he's convinced that they're 'good!' And he's always a big crybaby..."  
"..."

"-and he has this scar on his face, under his eyes, that's he's really proud of. He actually took a knife and stabbed himself to prove he was a man! I guess he can be stupid to the point of being cute sometimes…"

"..."

"-so then, the idiot somehow got himself swallowed by the crocodile he was supposed to be hunting, and thankfully he was swallowed whole and the stupid bugger haden't had enough time to start digesting him yet, but it was still really annoying to get him out! But eventually we got used to it, because Luffy really likes to eat crocodile, and he keeps on getting himself eaten. But that's not the worst of it! When he tried to hunt the bear, he got mauled… okay, I guess that was kind of my fault, too… and when he wanted to fish, we'd have to keep a very close eye on him, because he'll drown if he falls in, and even though he knows that, he still keeps on falling in!"

"..."

"He's not going to stop anytime soon, is he?" Haruta whispered as Ace continued to eagerly share embarrassing stories about his baby brother.

"It seems so…"

"Well, so long as it makes him happy, I guess?"  
"You guys think that maybe we'll get a new brother soon? This kid sounds pretty interesting!"

"Just keep on dreaming. Luffy won't ever join us!" Ace revealed with a smirk.  
"Why not? We even got _you _to join us."  
"That's because… Luffy's dream is to become the Pirate King!"

* * *

_Cocoyashi Village _

"Arlong Park… HAS FALLEN!"

"NAMIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII! YOU'RE OUR CREWMATE, GOT IT?"

"Y-Yeah!"

"Spread the news! Spread it to the whole island! Tell everyone… that Arlong Park is no more! We are finally free!"

Just as the villagers were about to begin celebrating their liberation from a tyrant, an unpleasant, nasally voice interrupted the good cheer.

"My, my, I truly didn't expect to witness such a stunning sight today…"

"Huh?"

"...It's the Marines!"

"Chichichi!" The marine that resembled a mouse in the center laughed. "I can't believe that Arlong and his crew could actually be defeated by a no-name band of pirates! Throw down your arms! I will take credit for this victory! Let it be known, that I, Captain Nezumi of the 16th branch, defeated the pirate Arlong! I will hereby take his bounty and all the treasure in Arlong Park-"

His speech was abruptly interrupted by a staff in his face, courtesy of Nami. "In your dreams!"

"You… You assaulted a marine officer! I'll get you sent to prison for this!" Nezumi scrambled back to his feet. "And who cares if I take your credit? Do you think that the Marines will believe a ragtag bunch of criminals over a Marine Captain-"

"Shut up! Luffy and his crew are our saviors!"

"All of these years, what did you ever do?"

"Beat him up!"

A mob of angry villagers, previously intending to rebel from Arlong, now turned their pitchforks upon the team of marines.

"Yo-You all dare to lay one finger on me, and I'll have you arrested for-" Nezumi panicked.

"Shut up already!"

"..."

"... I'lb gert yur bajct fur theis… juusrt waib…" Nezumi muttered, face swollen from being beaten up. (I'll get you back for this, just wait)

"Okay, we'll be waiting!" Luffy agreed cheerfully. Then he turned to the villagers with a frown. "Also, we're not heroes! Don't call us that?"

"Eh…? Why not?"  
With a completely serious look on his face, Luffy replied, "Because Ace said that good guys gotta share their meat. I don't want to share my meat!"

"..."  
"What kind of logic is that?"

"It actually makes sense." Zoro agreed. "Heroes have to share their sake. I'm not a hero, I'm not sharing anything."

"..." _There's another one! Sir, may I cut open your brain to see what went wrong?_  
While the people were distracted, a particular marine began his attempt to stealthily sneak away.

"And where exactly do you think you're going?" A shadow loomed over the marine who had been beaten to the point that he was almost unrecognizable. "I never said I was done."

Nezumi froze. "You… I'm warning you, don't come any closer… AHHHHHHH"

"This is for Bellmère! This is for Nojiko! This is for defiling my tangerine groove! This is for the villagers!" Nami shouted as she continued to whack him with her staff. She paused for a moment. "And… this… THIS IS FOR ME! Whew, that was pretty tiring."

"Nami-san! Would you like a glass of water to quench your thirst?"  
"Thank you!"  
"No problem!" Sanji spun around her in circles. "Anything to make you happy~~!"

Nezumi who had been beaten into a pulp. "..."

"Alright, now let's discuss _terms_." Nami crouched down. "I suppose it's too much to expect you to help rebuild the village… We'll do it like this! You don't ever show your face around me and my crew again! Don't ever show up anywhere near this island, either! Can you do that? That's a trick question, by the way. If you can't do it, I'll kill you."

Nezumi nodded frantically.

"And… you have treasure, don't you? If I recall correctly, Arlong gave quite the sum to make sure you kept one eye closed." She hinted.  
Wisely, he instantly handed everything over to her.

"Hmmm… I wonder… Is there anything else?"

Nezumi shook his head immediately.

"No? Then I guess you can get packing." She smiled leisurely.

As he made to fled, Nami planted a foot on his back and _grinded_.

"S-ST-STOOOOOOP!" Feeling dread, the rat-like man slowly turned. "Y-You…!"

"You didn't _really _think that you'd be able to fool me, did you? RETURN MY MONEY!"  
"..."

"Now everything's been cleaned up!" Nami said cheerily.

"Then… let's celebrate!"

* * *

_16th Branch Marine Outpost, East Blue_

"Hello?" Nezumi shouted into the Den Den Mushi.  
"You've reached Marineford." In Paradise, a marine officer in the Intel Management Offices picked up the receiver.

"This is the 16th branch marine outpost in East Blue! I am Captain Nezmui, identification code #00733! I have an urgent request!"

"And what is your business today?"

"I formally request a bounty to be placed on a group of dangerous pirates!" Nezumi, in his anger and excitement, began to raise his voice.  
"Please do not shout, I am not hard of hearing." In slight annoyance, the person on the receiving end interrupted.

"The group is composed of their straw-hat wearing captain, Luffy and his four crewmembers! They have demonstrated absolute contempt for the authority of the World Government and managed to defeat the pirate Arlong the Saw! I am sending you the pictures we have obtained!"

"Roger." The officer on the other side acknowledged. "Everything is in order. I have filed your report. Once we have confirmed the details, we will proceed to ask for authorization from the higher ups. Thank you, Captain."

After the call ended, Nezumi laughed sinisterly to himself. "Chichichi! Just wait to be captured, you fools!" When his eyes landed on the picture lying innocently on the desk, however, his expression morphed into one of annoyance. "Couldn't you have taken a better picture?"  
"Sorry, Sir, this is the best one that we got…"

"Forget it!"

* * *

Yo! I managed to rush out a chapter! Are you proud?

I've been thinking about this some more, and some of you might be wondering why I picked this moment to start... Which is a pretty good question, and one I managed to just figure out an answer to! Consider it this way: How much did Blackbeard affect Luffy's journey? The (obvious) answer is: duh, a lot. Well, he kinda responsible for the death his brother (even though the marines were the ones to actually kill him, but technicalities), almost caused him to die as well, now he's hanging around the New World, and in the future there is no way the two won't have another conflict, blah, blah, blah.

Now think about it this way, has Blackbeard shown up before we learned about his evil deeds?

Absolutely! Anyone remember the Jaya Arc? At first, no one had any idea who he was, and at most he just seemed a tiny bit unhinged (okay, now I'm being biased).

Then think about Drum! Why did Wapol leave his comfortable kingdom to become a pirate? Because he didn't want to face Blackbeard!

I didn't want to rewrite the story in East Blue, so I thought that Arlong getting his ass handed to him would be a good way to kick off. (This explanation is very impressive, right?)

Now that we're on the same page, regarding the reaction I received from everyone, I was actually very surprised. I guess I didn't expect people to be interested?

Thank you, clochette1710, Yui, Guest, WhiteyWolf26, Rahhpixy, and Shaeril McBrown for your reviews!

I can't make any promises about the plot just yet (right now, I'm kinda more worried about how Drum is going to turn out if Wapol never turned pirate, so...) but you can be assured that the War of the Best isn't happening anytime soon. Because, you know, Thatch isn't going to find the fruit yet, then Teach can't steal it, then Ace can't go chasing after him and get captured.

That's enough that I spilled. Okay! I wanna go eat! Bye~~~!


	3. Typical Days

Hello~! I thought I would post something for Christmas, so here it is. Merry Christmas, everyone!

* * *

Typical Days

* * *

_The Moby Dick, New World_

A vessel flying a black flag sailed in a seemingly endless sea of blue. Although it was an enormous ship, it seemed to be merely a single speck in the vast seas.

It was one of the more… uneventful days. There had been no surprise encounters with those pesky Navy fanatics that seemed to be more than happy to seek their own demises time and time again (what exactly was their brain made of?), no sudden attack by some rampaging sea creature, and no highly toxic objects suddenly (and often literally) dropping into their laps.

Even the weather was near perfect- not too hot or too cold, a gentle breeze blowing, and a few sparse clouds scattered across the sky.

There hadn't even been a hint of land or other ships in sight.

So it was a good day. A rare, relaxing, _luxurious _day.

And on such a day, men were enthusiastically and diligently working through their tasks, with a haste that bordered upon _rushing, _because it would be such a waste to not spend some time basking in the good weather.

But of course, there were some lucky bastards that had already completed their tasks (or didn't have tasks in the first place) and were thus completely carefree as they gathered on the deck in clumps.

And in one particularly rowdy area of the deck...

"I wonder how Luffy is doing right now…" Ace smiled as he looked out to the sea, leaning on the railing. "I managed to sweep through East Blue in just three weeks… East Blue shouldn't pose a problem for him… if he finally managed to stop punching himself in the face… yeah, that's not very likely is it."

"I wouldn't be surprised if it takes him longer to get his bounty." Haruta said as he swung his legs from his seat on the handrails. "East Blue is the weakest of all the Blues, so the marines don't pay much attention to it. It's more likely that they'd realize he's not the typical East Blue pirates and assign him his starting bounty once he's hit Paradise."

"Nah, you don't know Luffy. He's a trouble magnet! He won't be leaving East Blue without turning everything upside down and inside out!"

"How high do you think his bounty will be, then? Bounties in East Blue have always been low. In recent years, I think the average bounty was only around 2 to 3 million."  
"Hmmm…" Ace pondered. "Maybe… 10 million?"  
"That'll actually be a decent bounty in East Blue, but in the Grand Line they'll be a dime a dozen."

"Actually, that might be a little _too _low. Luffy will probably cause too much chaos and piss off some marine officer, who'd up his bounty just out of spite, though Luffy will be absolutely thrilled about that if he knew." Ace nodded. "20 million should be more like it. You know, my bounty when I left East Blue was 25 million. But there is no way he'd get higher than me."  
"Are you sure about that?"

"Positive!" Ace declared confidently. "You wanna make a bet?"  
"Err…" Haruta hesitated, a look of indecision of his face.

"I'll bet with you! What are we betting on?" Another idler appeared.

Nearby, a group of crewmembers toiling away grumbled to themselves. "Must be nice to have free time…"  
"You think that it's nice? Well, it might seem nice now, rookie, but every month when deadlines for reports come in, it's not so nice anymore!"

"Stop wasting time jabbering and let's hurry through this batch! We're almost done, you know!"

Meanwhile, Haruta was feeling ecstatic.  
"Rakuyo will bet with you, since he always has spare change!" Haruta immediately pounced on the opportunity. "I don't have any money left."  
"But first, what are we betting on again?" Rakuyo scratched his forehead.

"How high do you think his little brother's first bounty will be?"

"Ah? A kid from East Blue, I'd say… about 1 million?" Rakuyo answered.

"Really? But it's Ace's brother!"  
"Yeah, but didn't he say himself that his little brother was only seventeen? And on top of that, he described the kid as an idiot with no common sense, and was weak as hell?"  
"That was three years ago!" Haruta argued. "People can change!"

"That drastically?"

"Oi, who'd you just call an idiot?!"

"Calm down! I'm just repeating what you said earlier!" The seventh division Commander hastily cried out.

"Shut up! I'm the only one allowed to call him a moron, stupid and a crybaby!"

"..."

* * *

_Some time later..._

"Okay, so Ace, you're betting 5000 beli that Luffy's first bounty will be less than 25 million, and Rakuyo is betting 5000 beli that his first bounty will be 25 million or greater. We good?" Haruta asked.

"No! Why am I being forced to bet on-"  
"Okay, we're good! Now just sign your name here Ace… Thanks, and Rakuyo, you said you'll be betting, didn't you? Now you're planning on backing out? Don't be such a wuss." Haruta coerced.

"Hey, I never agreed to this in the first place!"

"It's only 5000 beli, why are you being so stingy? Hey, don't you think that 5000 beli is too little? How about you each bet 10,000?"

"Okay!" Ace agreed.

Haruta made a few more scribbles on the contract paper. "Bye bye! I need to go and file this away!"  
In the background… "Hey, you two, don't just make decisions on your own! Hey? Don't joke around anymore! 10,000 beli isn't a small sum, that's my allowance for, like half a year! You guys, stop ignoring me!"

* * *

_The Next Day..._

But of course, the second rule that everyone learns after a stay in the Grand Line is that nothing good lasts forever (The first being that everything and anything can wipe you off the map, with ease. Depressing, but they tend to last longer after they've comprehended this little fact).

"Well, isn't she a really a big one." Blamenco commented. In the silence, the sound of waves crashing into the ship and men shouting could faintly be heard.

"I agree… I truly do… but is _this _really necessary?" Ace questioned, shifting on his makeshift chair, a crate.

"Yes." Izo replied irritably. "And if you all could just behave, there would be no need for _me _to also be stuck here with you." He shot an annoyed look to all the individuals gathered in the dimly lit room.

The room had nothing but four white walls, a locked door, a few flickering lamps and the abandoned crates that they were using as chairs.

"Okay, but why is _Marco_ allowed outside?"  
"Because he's more experienced."  
"I have experience too!" Ace protested. "I have a ton of experience!"

"And I don't even have a devil fruit!" Rakuyo complained. "You're locking up an innocent person!"

"Yes, well, when you get your pet to stay here by herself without trying to bludgeon us all to death, you can leave."  
"She's just afraid!"  
"And that's why you're needed her to calm her down!"

"Well, if you let her stay in my room, or with me, I'd take care of her!"  
"Well, that didn't work so well, did it?"

"Shut. Up." Jozu growled suddenly.

Izo and Rakuyo both went silent.

Ace sighed. "Okay, so we can't go above deck in weather like this, I get it! I can be careful, I can stay below deck! But is it really necessary to treat us like prisoners every time this happen?" He shot the reinforced door a pointed glare. "And couldn't you have picked a room with better lighting?" He grumbled as he lit up a finger, instantly causing the room to brighten. "All the shadows are really getting on my nerves."

Izo rubbed his temples. "I'm stuck in here just like you are, and I didn't ask for this either. You should take it up with Pops, since Marco's clearly not budging on this matter."

"It's probably going to take another few hours before they let us out." Blamenco pointed out. "You guys want anything? I've got food, water, books, and a lot of other things." As he spoke, he lifted things out of his pockets.

"Why do you have so many random items?" Rakuyo poked a set of makeup cautiously.

"So that I can be prepared in any occasion!"

"I just realized that Blamenco's ability could actually be pretty handy sometimes…"

"You have alcohol?"  
The Commander fished out a flagon.

"Hey, that's actually mighty handy! 'Specially to hide alcohol from those crazy witches…"  
"I guess you forgot that those crazy witches saved your life on multiple occasions…"

"Technicalities!"

"Can I have paper?" Ace requested.

"Here, take a pen, too."  
"Thanks!"

"Why do you need paper?"  
"I'm going to write a letter!"  
"Give me paper, too." Izo demanded. "I'm going to draw… Jozu."

"Hmmm…. I've got nothing to do, I guess I'll draw Jozu, too." Rakuyo said.

Jozu. "..."

"I want to draw too!" Ace brightened up. "I bet I can draw him the best!" He boasted in a childish manner.

"I'll take you up on that… but aren't you writing your letter?"  
"I can do that later. Blamenco?"  
"Fine, I'll do it."  
"Okay… should we give a time limit?" Rakuyo asked.  
"An hour should do it, right?"

* * *

_Half an hour later…_

"Are you guys done yet?" Ace grumbled.  
"Shut up, stop distracting us!" Izo scolded.

* * *

_Ten minutes later…_

"Still not done?"

"I'm done." Rakuyo picked up his paper to show to his weapon/pet, who was being surprisingly docile. "Furball, look, it's a splitting image, right?"

The spiked ball turned to Jozu before bobbing up and down.

"..." _Where's the fur?_

"I'm done too." Blamenco announced.

"Izo?"  
"I still have twenty minutes, so stop rushing me!"

* * *

_Twenty minutes later…_

Ace fiddled with his paper airplane. "Izo…"  
"Done!" The crossdresser said triumphantly.

"Finally!" Ace threw down the item in his hand. "Let me see!"  
"Show yours first!"

"Why don't we show them all at the same time?" Fearing an argument, Blamenco suggested.

"Okay, that works too!"

"..."  
Jozu stared at the four pieces of paper that had been shoved into his face. "..."

"Which one do you like the best?"

"..." He continued to stare at the papers unblinkingly.

"Well? I tried really hard!" Ace said, shaking his paper for emphasis.

"Tried really hard! What tried really hard? You didn't even draw his eyes! And why is his nose taking up half his face? You have absolutely no sense of proportions! Look at this! Why are his legs like this?"  
"Well…" Ace spluttered. "His legs do look like this!" He pulled Jozu up from the crate he was sitting on. "See! Obviously, his upper body is like ten times wider than his lower body!"

Izo scoffed. "Well, now it looks like his legs went on vacation and he's walking on stilts!"

"Look at your own! You drew him with long hair! He doesn't _have_ this much hair!"  
"This is called having a sense of fashion!" Izo defended. "And you better not be laughing at me over there, Rakuyo, that looks more like Namur that it does Jozu! Why did you add gills?"  
"Gills? Where?"  
"There!" Izo pointed.

"No, no, that're representing his diamond form!" Rakuyo hurriedly explained.

Blamenco silently stared at his own ignored drawing. "... What about… mine?"

"Huh?" Four heads swivelled to look towards his paper.

"Where- oh, it's that?"  
"Yours is definitely the best. Just… why is Jozu so tiny?"  
Everyone stared at the miniature Jozu hidden in the corner of the paper.

"It's easier to draw if it's smaller. At least for me."

"Blamenco, give me another piece of paper! This time, I'm drawing… Marco!" Ace announced.

"Why Marco?"

"Because he's the one who gets to go out while we're stuck here!"

"I'll draw Haruta, then… the little shit." Rakuyo said darkly. "I'll let you cheat me out of my money! Hmph."

"Hmmm… I wonder how Thatch will look with a different hairstyle… "

Jozu in the corner, who had four papers thrown into his hands. "..."

* * *

Did everyone enjoy this fluffy chapter?

Just wanted to mention this: thanks for all the review, favorites and follows, I really appreciate the support.

I rushed out a chapter, so... Review?


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